With These Hands
by Prince Vladimir
Summary: This story is a happy ending to Edward Scissorhands. EdwardXKim.
1. After The Snowfall

Part 1

AFTER THE SNOWFALL

Kim Boggs sat at the desk in her room, reading a book. It was December, just before Christmas, and evening had descended upon her suburban Florida neighborhood. Glancing up from her book and out her bedroom window, she saw that once again, snow was falling.

This was the third time in a fortnight that it had snowed and Kim was delighted! Previously, she would quit whatever she was doing and excitedly rush outside to play in it; to dance in it, to make snow angels, to have snowball fights with Kevin or her dad...but for now, she was content to stay indoors and marvel as the lovely crystals fell to earth. No cars were driving on the street, nor was anyone walking down the sidewalks. There was nothing to disturb the pristine white blanket of winter.

Kim had never experienced any snow growing up, and had long accepted that a White Christmas would elude her, as long as she remained in Florida. Yet, seemingly by a miracle, snow had become a regular occurrence in the colder months. "It all started last year", she thought. "When he came down."

..._When he came down_.

Kim repeated those words to herself: "when he came down". And as she did, she remembered everything. One year had passed since Kim met the young man who changed her life. Their ephemeral meeting was the most beautiful and the most tragic thing that had ever happened to her; profound and bittersweet; loving someone else deeply as they fall in love with you, and then suddenly, after experiencing awful misunderstandings and treacheries, he knew he couldn't stay. He went away, leaving her all alone.

"Edward..."

She remembered how she arrived home from a camping trip one night and was scared out of her wits when she discovered Edward sleeping in her bed, how he had gained friends and admirers by using his scissorhands to make the most amazing topiaries and hairstyles, how she had gradually grown fond of him as her relationship with her boyfriend, Jim, grew strained and distant, and how she had held him in their living room that fateful night as his world came crashing down.

In the year since Edward returned to his decaying, forlorn mansion, Kim had graduated from high school. Her school and her neighborhood were shaken by Jim's death; he'd been one of the stars of their football team and because Kim dated him, she had attracted increased scrutiny; there were even rumors that she was responsible for that ghastly puncture in his chest, but they were wrong. She was with Jim in his last moments and knew his true nature; he was an envious, contemptible bully who tried to kill Edward. She would never mourn his passing.

After graduation, she went off to college, majoring in psychology. In her first semester, two different boys from her classes had expressed interest in her. They liked her soft-spoken nature, her melancholy doe eyes and her purity of heart. But Kim could not reciprocate their advances. Her heart was occupied. It bore the name of someone she could not have.

As the memories of the past year welled up inside her, Kim felt herself becoming terribly sad, the pain of the longing making her ache inside. She walked away from the window, teary mists of sorrow forming in her eyes. Lying down on her bed, she buried her face in her pillow and started to cry.

Her tears fell and moistened her pillow. Her breathing was jagged shivers and sniffles. Her heart was breaking. "I miss you..." she whimpered, in between sobs. "I need you..." ...and he wasn't there.

She was upset with herself. She thought she had managed to let go of him, to accept his absence and move on with her life. But as she found out at this moment, mysterious, handsome, kind-hearted men like Edward were not easy to let go of.

After a couple minutes of crying and grieving his absence, she began to settle down, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She turned up from her pillow and glanced at the head of her bed. Her collection of stuffed animals was there and among them was her teddy bear, a loveable little thing with light tan fur and its arms reaching forward, ready to embrace. Kim had loved that teddy bear ever since she was a little girl and she was so thankful he was there now. She reached out to grab it and pulled it close to her. As she cuddled her bear, she wished dearly that he could be transformed, Cinderella-style, into Edward. But even if he couldn't, just holding her old friend made her feel a bit better.

That night, when Kim slept, she had the most exquisite dream. A ball was being held in a magnificent palace. She wasn't sure where exactly. But the hall was a splendid sea of couples and costumed aristocrats. All the king's men, it seemed, had turned up. Among the crowd were Kim and Edward, together as one. Edward had hands in the dream, so there was nothing to stop him from holding her as they danced. The strings of the symphony sang the most dramatic, swooning melodies. There was no past, no future and no present, only the eternal Now.

Kim awoke the next morning and the first thing that came to mind as the late December sunrise filtered through her bedroom window was that dream. "It was so vivid..." She could recall nearly every detail of it, right down to the railings on the palace stairs and the shimmering candles in the chandelier above them.

The second thing she realized was that she actually felt okay. Something about this dream had healed her and made it easier to bear the idea of life without Edward. She wasn't sure how long this equilibrium would last though, and she was grateful to experience it at all.

Three days later, Kim was at home by herself. Her parents and Kevin were out for the day. None of her friends were available to do anything. They were all either working or with their families, given that it was Christmastime. Bored and unable to think of anything better to do, Kim decided to see what was on TV.

Lying on the couch, everything she saw as she flipped through the channels seemed completely pointless. Silly action movies, crude daytime talkshows, news anchors making economic predictions and recalling the highlights of sports games…nothing good. Eventually, she settled on: "Restauranteers", a travelling show where some guttermouthed douchebag dines out at unusual restaurants all over America.

The narrator's loud, "edgy" voice blared through the television. _"Next up: we're taking you to beautiful, sunny Burbank, California, to a place called 'Sideshow Bistro'! This place takes the performance art of teppanyaki restaurants and runs with it, resulting in some of the craziest cooking you've ever seen!" _

They showed scenes of a burly, biker gang-looking chef chopping up a chicken with a hand axe, and a lady dressed in clown attire juggling a large number of condiments before sprinkling them over a dish.

Kim was intrigued. She watched closer.

The host spoke into the camera. _"I'm about to watch a show. Let's take a seat."_

What Kim saw next made her gasp audibly. She could not believe it! Standing in front of a large chrome grill, with an impressive array of ingredients before him, ready to produce a culinary masterpiece...was Edward. Yes, Edward! Edward was cooking in a restaurant. He had left his mansion. He was on T.V. There were 10 patrons sitting in a semicircle on the other side of the grill, ready for dinner. It was almost too much for Kim to take in at once.

Edward began his show by taking several raw steaks and slashing them with his scissorhands, aggressive downward strikes, one after another, SLASH! CHOP! TEAR!, until all of the steak had been cut into little cubes.

_"Whoa! Did you see that?!" _

Next were the onions. Edward took a peeled white onion in each hand, tossed them high into the air and cut them rapidly as they fell, flailing his arms in a manner that seemed almost uncontrolled...that is, until dozens of perfect onion squares dropped to the grill's surface.

"Oh my gosh...", Kim said to herself softly.

Then came the red bell peppers and the potatoes. For these, Edward inspected each vegetable, one at a time, meticulously cutting pieces off them, each a different shape...there were stars, crescent moons, a heart, a spade, a club, and so on.

Finally, Edward picked up the cubes of meat and cuts of vegetable and juggled them up in quick succession. Holding out the scissorthumb of his left hand, he caught each morsel of food, impaled on the blade. He repeated this nine times until all his digits held a complete kebab set on them. The flames of the grill lit and Edward laid his hands on its surface to cook this meal to medium-rare deliciousness.

"That doesn't hurt?", the host of the show asked. Edward shook his head and began to slowly rotate his hands to expose the entire construct to the flames. Shortly thereafter, the kebabs were cooked and the diners were happily, excitedly digging in.

Kim was ecstatic as she watched all of this. She didn't know what was more amazing: that Edward had left his mansion and was now a part of the world again, that he was now somewhat famous all across America, OR the fact that he had just given a seriously awesome artistic performance, even better than his angel ice sculpture from last Christmas.

For a long while after she turned the television off, all she could do was sit quietly on the couch, ruminating intensely on what she had just seen. After her tearful lament in her room three nights prior, Kim had started, at long last, to quietly accept a life without Edward in it, a life spent nourishing the memory of that uncommonly gentle man. But this, this had changed everything. And she knew what she had to do.

She had to go visit him.


	2. Boggs Family Values

Part 2

BOGGS FAMILY VALUES

Later on that day, Peg, Bill and Kevin returned home. They had been Christmas shopping, obtaining a tree, gifts, food and drinks for the holiday season. As they decked the halls of the house, making preparations, Kim was attempting to muster up the courage to tell them about Edward.

The Boggs family would not be hosting a Christmas party this year; Edward's visit had terrorized many of their neighbors, and left deep fissures in its social life that, one year later, had not been mended. Several families had sold their houses and moved away shortly after Jim's death, and of those who stayed, only a few were on speaking terms with the Boggs'. In the face of this banishment, Peg and Bill had no choice but to pare the celebration down for a mere family of four.

Kim exited her bedroom and walked into the living room, her heart racing with apprehension. Peg was pulling tinsel, lights and glass balls out of a box and placing them onto a freshly cut, sweet-smelling pine tree.

"Mom?" Kim asked.  
>"Yes, dear?" Peg chirped in reply.<br>"There something I need to talk to you about in private."

Peg wondered what it could be. "Sure...", she told Kim with slight uncertainty and walked towards her.  
>Turning to Kevin, she asked: "Kevin, could you please help put some of these decorations on? I'll be just a moment." Kevin obliged and started to work.<p>

* * *

><p>They went into the basement to speak.<p>

"What is it, Kim?"  
>"I lied to you about something."<br>Peg eyed her daughter with suspicion. "You did? Tell me."  
>"Mom...Edward's not dead."<p>

Peg stared solemnly. "You know...I was actually wondering about that."  
>"I know I shouldn't have told a lie, but I didn't feel like I had a choice. I thought the only way the neighborhood would stop chasing him is if they thought he was dead."<p>

Since the night Jim was killed, the night Edward left, Peg's response had been to not mention him at all. She regretted bringing him home and now that it was over, there really wasn't anything left to mention. Edward was dead and that was that. Or so she thought.

"Sweetie", Peg asked her daughter gently, "what happened to Jim that night?"

Kim explained. "When he was making that ice sculpture, Jim called out to Edward and he turned his body to look at him. That's how I got the cut on my palm. Jim said Edward attacked me on purpose. But it wasn't on purpose and he knew it."

Kim paused, allowing her words to sink in.

"I went up to the mansion... I thought Edward had been killed...and then Jim went up there with a gun and shot at him. He got Edward on the ground and was beating him up."

When Peg heard this, she gasped quietly. "My goodness. How could Jim do these things?!"  
>"He was jealous because...Edward loves me."<p>

Peg didn't say anything at all.

"And mom...", Kim boldly declared, "I love him too."

Peg didn't know how to respond to this declaration. On one hand, she had no evidence motivating her to believe that Edward could really be held responsible for the misfortunes he experienced. A few nights after Jim's death, his friend Denny had rung the doorbell of the Boggs house, choked up with tears of guilt, pleading for forgiveness as he confessed that he had been driving Jim's van while intoxicated and that Edward was the one who saved Kevin from being run over. She was eternally grateful her son was alive. She definitely wasn't opposed to her daughter dating a man who could be the hero. On the other hand, it was undeniable that Edward's presence had brought considerable turmoil to the neighborhood in a short time...

"Dear...I understand you feel that way, but it's best if Edward stays in his mansion. At least until he learns to function better."  
>"Edward's not at the mansion."<br>"Then where is he?", Peg asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.  
>"I saw him on T.V. He's in California, working as a chef at a restaurant there."<p>

This was becoming surprise after another! "Well then, I guess word spread quickly about him after he was on that talk show."  
>"He's at a restaurant that's full of performing chefs. He looked like he was happy. He can cook really well."<br>"Well, he certainly is talented." Peg smiled. "I just hope he's become more...um..." Peg searched a moment for the right word. "...Aware is all. Aware of how to live in the outside world. You know, when we tried to start that hair salon, he didn't even have a Social Security number."

"I want to go visit him."  
>Peg swiftly shot her request down. "No, dear. It's Christmas."<br>"I know, but...we're not having a party this year. And Grandpa and Grandma can't make it until next year."  
>"Kim, you'd miss dinner with us, you'd miss caroling, you'd miss church, you'd miss opening presents...and now that you're in college, we're only going to get to see you during breaks. It was lonely here all these months without you. If you want to see Edward, it'll just have to wait. Now come up with me and help us decorate the tree."<p>

Kim's heart sunk as her mother walked up the stairs. She had been elated the entire day, knowing that she and her true love could be together. Now, those plans would be delayed for months, at least until Spring Break in March. Kim did not want to wait that long. But for now, she had no choice. She sighed and followed Peg into the living room to help make the house look like Christmas. As Kim worked, an idea came to her mind. She decided to speak to her mother again.

* * *

><p>That night, shortly before everyone went to bed, Kim asked Peg about something very close to her heart.<p>

"Mom?"  
>"What is it, dear?"<br>"You know how you always tell me you can't wait until I'm married and have kids?"  
>Peg smiled warmly. "Certainly. Oh, it's going to be the happiest day of your life, Kim! It's the day I look forward to more than any other."<br>Kim continued: "Well, what if Edward's the person that happens with? Would you like that?"  
>Peg thought for a moment and replied: "As long as Edward can use his scissors as an asset, and as long as he's learned how to live outside the mansion, then yes. It'd be wonderful if he were your husband and my son-in-law."<p>

Kim couldn't hide her smile. It was both radiant and bashful. Peg smiled too, enjoying her daughter's happiness.  
>"Mom, I know Christmas is a time for being with your loved ones. And I know you want me to stay here. I accept that. But, the sooner I get to see Edward, the sooner I can get married. If everything works out between us, I mean. And if you let me go see him, I promise you that I'll only miss Christmas just this once. Next year everything will be back to normal."<p>

Peg was still deeply skeptical. "I'm going to talk to your father, because he still doesn't know about any of this. But don't get your hopes up." And with that, Peg marched off to tell Bill of Edward's life and Kim's infatuation.

Kim waited in her room as her parents spoke. It was the wait of hospital visitors as they sat by their critical-care loved ones, praying for recovery. She became restless and then interminably anxious, glancing around the room, pacing back and forth, staring out her window and up at the mansion on the hill, a mansion that now held no one. Eventually, she couldn't take it any longer; she marched out of her room and towards her parents, sitting on the couch in the living room, as they debated the proposal of letting her leave for the West Coast.

"I mean," said Bill to Peg,"Everyone goes through a time where they're young and they looking for adventure. You ever read that book '_On The Road_''? I mean, that is...a great one. A really great one."  
>"Doesn't that book have drugs in it?"<br>"Err...yeah. But my point still stands. Remember what I told you my buddies and I did after we graduated highschool?"  
>"I don't ever need you to tell me about that again."<br>Bill chuckled. And then he noticed his daughter standing before him.

"Ah, Kim! Nice of you to join us. Your mother and I have been talking."  
>"Have you made a decision?", Kim asked.<br>"Well really, I'm okay with what you want to do. I mean, I'd definitely prefer you stay here...but Peg explained the situation with Edward and it sounds like he turned out alright after all. And, you know...you're 19 and my days of molding you are basically over, whether I like it or not. You're your own person now."

Kim was speechless, her eyes wide. Then she regained her voice. "You're serious?"

"I'm serious."  
>And with that, she threw her arms around her father. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"<br>As he hugged her, Bill added: "But however you get there, you're paying for it, alright?"

Kim smiled wryly. Leave it to her dad to always take the time to stress the fiscal aspect of the situation. "Don't worry, dad. I'll find a way and I'll pay for it all."

Peg was much less nonchalant. Staring directly into Kim's eyes, her index finger raised, she explained: "Be very careful. Call us once you get there. Stay out of bad areas and stay away from strange people. Don't accept anything from anyone you don't know. Call us immediately if you need to." Kim nodded and affirmed each command. It wasn't much longer until she had made her travel plans.

* * *

><p>The Greyhound Bus was certainly not Kim's preferred method of transportation. Although affordable, traveling in it involved sitting in a seat for a maddening amount of time, eating fast food at various stops and listening to the clamor of some really uncouth passengers. There were a few people who seemed regular but Kim didn't want anything to do with the rest of them: rowdy lower-class passengers who were passing around a deck of cards and placing bets, elderly couples who had taken to touring the country in their golden years, and sitting across from Kim, a young man in an an Army uniform, staring intensely at the other passengers with a disturbing expression of wasted disillusion on his face. All of that was endurable, however, because at the other end of this trial was Edward Scissorhands. The promise of romance and unity prompted her to be strong and patient. Love will find a way.<p>

And so the bus headed west, from Florida through the longleaf pines of Mississippi to the windswept plains of Texas and onward across the harsh, saguaro-dotted deserts of Arizona. They would soon be crossing the California state line, "Soon", Kim thought to herself, "I'll see Edward". Closing her eyes, she sighed blissfully, her smile serene. Lost in her imagination, shivering with anticipation at the things they would say and the things they would do.

_"There's a new song upon the breeze_  
><em>The sky's a sparkling blue<em>  
><em>Tell me please, is this a dream come true?<em>

_'Cause now I don't have to pretend_  
><em>The sun is finally coming out<em>  
><em>And 'round the bend, I'll see what love's about." <em>

-Judy Munsen


	3. Parklight Rendezvous

Part 3

PARKLIGHT RENDEZVOUS

The Los Angeles metropolitan area is a vast empire, sprawling over 50 miles across the varied landscapes of Southern California, the epic Pacific Ocean to the west. Home to over 12 million people, staggering, dazzling and glamorous, decaying and deranged.

Edward was here, somewhere.

Late in the afternoon, the Greyhound bus reached its final destination, a station located in a gritty, working-class neighborhood, the towering skyscrapers of downtown L.A. visible a few miles away. "We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!", the bus driver howled earnestly as the passengers snatched their luggage and exited.

"Thank God…" Kim muttered to herself. She'd been sitting down so long that her legs felt awkward to use. As she walked off the bus and into the station, she made a mental note to avoid Greyhound in the future.

"Excuse me, sir?" Kim asked an attendant behind a counter. "Could you give me the address for a restaurant called 'Sideshow Bistro' in Burbank?"  
>"Sure, I can look that up." The attendant turned to a computer console behind him, tapped a few keys, and a printer spit out a piece of paper with an address on it, which he handed to her. Thanking him, Kim took the paper and walked outside to a bay of taxis located near the station's doors.<p>

One of the taxi drivers motioned to her, so she opened the rear door, placed her suitcase in the backseat and got inside. "So, where will we be heading?", the driver asked her in heavily accented English. She handed him the paper the attendant had given her. "Could you take me to this address?", she requested. "With pleasure", he responded. Turning the key in the ignition, the car's engine rumbled and it sped down surface streets before lurching onto a highway heading north, twisting through the majestic Hollywood hills.

* * *

><p>Kim could feel the anticipation inside her intensifying as the ride went on. She was joyful but also very anxious, traveling by herself through an exciting locale she'd never been to before. As the taxi continued north, a question came to her: <em>"How could Edward survive in a place like this?"<em> There had been enough problems for him to deal with in Middle American suburbia. Why on earth would he think he was capable of enduring the extremely large Los Angeles area, with its significantly more…"interesting" residents?

The taxi drive took 45 minutes, SoCal traffic being what it was, but eventually Kim reached the requested address, located in an upscale shopping center in downtown Burbank. She paid her driver, took her suitcase and left. The restaurant's sign read "Sideshow Bistro" in brutal, medieval-looking font.

Before venturing inside, Kim took a small detour into the place next door, a salon and spa, and went into their restroom. She hadn't changed clothes since departing from Florida over a day ago. Rather unattractive. She wanted to look pretty and girly for Edward, as a treat to him. Searching for something different to wear, she decided on a white t-shirt blouse with a long-sleeved fluffy open sweater, a navy circle skirt, a winter scarf, black stockings, lovely mascara and pink-red lipstick. Finally, she pulled her hair back and tied it into a graceful ponytail. As she stared into the bathroom mirror, honing her look, a series of sharp raps on the restroom door startled her. She opened it and an older woman stood before her.

"Paying customers need to use the restroom too."  
>"I'm sorry for taking so long."<br>Scanning Kim from head to toe, the woman added…"you look nice."  
>"Aww, thank you."<p>

Feeling newly confident and optimistic, Kim left the salon and walked into Sideshow Bistro. She was immediately met with aggressive metal music blaring from speakers, blinking strobe lights, bursts of fire, clanking and scraping noises, people hollering and cheering, reverberation. It was quite a bit to take in.

Cautiously moving across the restaurant's floor, she scanned the entire place for Edward…and did not see him. Disappointed, she looked around for someone to ask and saw a man who she perceived to be the manager. The man was tall with a hardened, unemotional face and a black tank top. His head was shaved and his muscular arms were decorated with runic tattoos. As Kim approached him, his eyes widened into an unnerving stare.

"H-Hi.", she stammered from intimidation. "Is Edward here?"  
>"Edward already left for the day."<br>"Oh. I see…do you know where I could find him at this time?"

The man glanced quickly around the restaurant before focusing to look at Kim again.  
>"I've seen him in Griffith Park a couple times. Walking along the main road. You could try there."<br>"Thank you. I'll be sure to look there."

Kim caught another taxi to Griffith Park, griping about having to spend so much money simply getting around. Late afternoon was turning to dusk as the sun dipped further west, a brilliant gold among the sky's pink and indigo hues. During the drive, she ruminated on the man she spoke to at the restaurant. Something seemed off about him. It was almost as if he were expecting her. "Maybe it's just my imagination.", Kim thought. After all, the restaurant was called "Sideshow Bistro"; many of the things there would be "off". It was probably nothing to worry about.

* * *

><p>Griffith Park was splendid, lush and spacious, a retreat among the mountainsides, a welcome relief from the dense, fast-paced urban world that surrounded it. It was also large. Very large. If Kim had not been given a specific spot of the park to go to, she'd never know where to start looking.<p>

The taxi dropped her off shortly within the park's entrance. With suitcase in hand, she strolled along the sidewalk of the main road, admiring the tranquility: the light breeze in the December air, the sunset and the sweet scent of pine needles. Although the place wasn't highly crowded, there were pedestrians out and about, as well as a modest number of cars driving down the road. On the right-hand side, there was an area filled with picnic tables where a family was barbecuing, a collection of tennis courts where people energetically slammed the ball back and forth across the net, and a golf course where, even with waning daylight, a few players were still teeing off.

A short distance beyond this, there was a large amphitheater, and beyond the amphitheater, the number of people began to diminish. Eventually, as Kim continued walking, she became the only person in the vicinity, her footsteps and the wind rustling the trees the only sound. It was at this time that the park's streetlights suddenly flickered to life.

In this more remote area of the park, the main road was a valley flanked by hillsides, where tall trees planted near the pathway blocked the waning light of the sun. After about fifty yards further, the road bent sharply to the left and began to steepen, heading up a hill. Kim had rounded the bend and was preparing to ascend this incline...when something her caught her eye. A long distance in front of her, she saw something move near a tree on the side of the road.

She wasn't sure what it was. It was too far away, too dim, and she had only seen it for a split-second, but her attention was fixed on that spot as she tiptoed uphill. A few seconds later, she saw it again, moving out from near the hillside and into the middle of the road. It was a human. A tall man, holding a sharp object. When Kim saw him, her mind flashed back to the man she had seen in Sideshow Bistro. _"Walking along the main road"_, he had told her. Fear coursed her body as she remembered those words.

The man stood motionless, his form darkened against the sunset. Kim wanted to run but she was frozen to the spot. All she could do was stare in front of her at the frightening figure. About thirty tense seconds passed. Then, all of the sudden, the man's stillness broke and he began walking swiftly down the hill, directly towards her.

"No..." Kim uttered with dread, her adrenaline coursing. No longer paralyzed, she dropped her suitcase, turned around and began running like hell, back around the bend, as the man sped up and gave chase.

Kim's thoughts raced as fast as her legs. _"It's the man I talked to. I knew it! He wasn't the manager! I just carelessly assumed he was. How could I have been so stupid?! So naive?! It's just like in the movies: the sadistic killer finds a silly blonde girl, lures her to a secluded spot and does inhuman things to her. Well he's not going to catch me. I did three years of cheerleading. I'm in good shape! I can outrun him!"_

The man yelled to Kim. She opened her mouth and screeched as loud as she could, hoping to alert some of the other parkgoers of his presence so he would flee, and then later the police could apprehend him. Just then, however, her mind caught up with her instincts and she realized what the man had actually said.

"Kim, don't go!"

It wasn't the man from the restaurant's voice. It was someone else. Someone who knew her name.

…could it actually be...?

With great hesitation and nerves maximally stimulated, Kim stopped running and slowly turned around. In a single moment, everything changed. Her fear shifted to incredible happiness. Standing before her, partially illumined by the glow of the streetlights, quietly smiling at her…was Edward Scissorhands.

"It's me. Don't worry.", he grinned sweetly.

Tears of joy started to fall from her eyes. She gazed at him in wonder. Then, smiling gleefully, she called back to him: "It's you! It's really you!" Running towards Edward, he held his arms wide open as she threw herself around him and wept on his shoulder.

"I missed you so badly!", she cried. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."  
>"I missed you too." Edward told her softly. "I thought about you every day."<br>Kim hadn't thought about Edward every day. She knew it wasn't healthy to cling to someone she couldn't have, and in the year gone by, she would often push thoughts of him away and try to move on. But she couldn't help it. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, after all.  
>Instead, she told him: "I thought about you alot too."<p>

Edward folded his arms to lovingly embrace Kim, being cautious to assure his hands didn't make contact with her. And she held him as if he would have to say goodbye again if she didn't hold tightly enough. As they hugged, Edward closed his eyes and felt the soft strands of her blonde hair against his nose and his chin. Kim closed her eyes too, slowly her frantic heartbeat slowed, her tears ceased and she was still.

Nearby, an elderly man sitting in his car in the parking lot with his window rolled down observed Edward and Kim cherishing one another. "That's beautiful.", he remarked, wholly without cynicism, like an awestruck little child. Edward's ears pricked up when he heard this man's voice. "Kim, we're being watched." Kim opened her eyes and looked around. When she saw the man in his car, she became self-conscious. She was shy, just like Edward. She wished the man were elsewhere.

"I know a place where we can be alone. Follow me.", he beckoned to her with his hands.  
>Edward began walking back up the road Kim had encountered him on. She retrieved her suitcase and walked with him. They passed through a tunnel carved into the mountain. As they neared the tunnel's exit, Edward told her: "Kim, close your eyes. I want this to be a surprise." She did so.<p>

* * *

><p>The two of them walked for several minutes, Kim trusting only in the sound of Edward leading her. It was difficult and uncertain. This would have been much easier if she could hold his hand. <em>"What if I bonk into a street sign?"<em> Finally, he announced: "Okay, open your eyes." When she did, she discovered that he had taken her to a concrete balcony at the summit of a hill, and she was gazing out at the entire Los Angeles area, millions of lights glistening in the sun's final rays. "Wow...it's so scenic..."  
>"I come here alot because I like the view." Edward said. "Sometimes you can see all the way to the ocean."<br>Kim turned her head. Behind them was a very large, magnificent art-deco building with several dark-grey domes in its roof. A temple, maybe?  
>"That's the observatory.", Edward explained. "They look at stars in there."<p>

Kim smiled at that comment. Edward was still relatively new to the world, and he acted as if she needed to be instructed on the purpose of an observatory. Despite the passage of a year and his big-city surroundings, it looked as if he had retained much of his innocence.

He spoke excitedly. "Kim, so many things have happened to me. There are so many things I want to tell you about."  
>"That's awesome! I have alot of things I want to tell you about too...alot of things I want to ask you."<p>

So, with a stellar view before them and with no one to disturb them, Edward and Kim set out to do what fate had preventing them from doing until this point:  
>to speak with one another as lovers and companions.<p> 


	4. The Because-You-Asked-Me-To's

Part 4

THE BECAUSE-YOU-ASKED-ME-TO'S

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><p>"How did you know I was here?", Edward asked Kim.<p>

"I saw you on T.V. There was a show on a few days ago where the host ate at your restaurant and you were cooking for everyone. It was so cool!"  
>Edward smiled. He remembered when the television crew filmed him while he was at work, three or so months ago.<br>Kim continued: "I knew we couldn't be together, as long as you were in your mansion. But then I found out you had left and I had to see you."  
>Edward's smile grew larger. He was very impressed by her devotion to him. It was the same devotion that her mother, Peg, had shown him when she arrived at his mansion, the devotion that made him feel like he had a home. Maybe that's where Kim learned it from.<p>

"Edward, why did you leave your mansion? You would have been safe there. L.A. just seems crazy."

Edward took a moment to answer.  
>"Someone came to me one day and wanted to know if I cooked. I told him yes. He said he owned a restaurant. He was looking for unusual chefs. I didn't want to do it at first. I didn't want to be around people anymore."<br>"So, what changed your mind?"  
>"I realized I was overreacting. Jim and Joyce did bad things...but there are alot of good people too. Like your family. Your family loved me."<br>"Yes...and we still do.", Kim replied warmly. "Kevin knows you saved him."  
>"I went with the owner because I wanted to be with people...people who don't do bad things."<br>"Edward, everyone does bad things. I've done bad things too. No one's perfect. But what matters is trying to do the right thing...and when you do the wrong thing, apologizing and not making the same mistake again. They call it 'repenting'."

Kim paused for a moment, finding the words to say, then continuing:  
>"I'm really proud of you for being brave enough to live here. And that you're using your talent to serve other people."<br>For a third time, Edward smiled. This one was contagious and Kim smiled back at him.

Edward's mannerisms had changed somewhat, she noticed as she watched him. He seemed more confident and more serene. He wasn't wholly alien, as he was when her mother had brought down from the mountain. He seemed to know where he belonged, that was her overall impression. Some things hadn't changed; he was still gentle and unassuming, still spoke quietly and possessed a demeanor suggesting his lifestyle was very solitary.

His appearance had also changed. When Edward met Kim, his hair was a wild, unmanageable tangle. It had since been trimmed and styled, its length slicked backwards. His facial scars had faded with time and he no longer possessed his freaky metallic suit of armor. He wore instead a black dress shirt, black leather pants and combat boots. She realized that this change of hair and clothing was the reason why she hadn't recognized him earlier, on the uphill road. She also realized how handsome this change made him look. Her heart beat a little quicker and she felt warm inside.

"How are you and your family?", Edward asked just then.

"They're good...same as always. I told them you're alive and they were happy about that...they weren't happy I lied, though. My dad says congratulations on finding work that pays...Kevin's in 8th grade now. And...I'm in college, studying psychology. The human brain.", Kim added, unsure if he had heard the word "psychology" before.  
>"That sounds great. I want to learn about the brain too."<br>"You should get a book about it. Do you ever visit bookstores, Edward?"  
>"Sometimes. I have to be careful when I turn the pages."<br>Understandingly, Kim nodded. "I was reading a book before I saw you on T.V."  
>"What's the book about?"<br>"Serial killers.", said Kim. "Some of the worst people. They go around hunting out victims and take their lives, one after another."  
>Edward shuddered in horror. "Why would you read about that?"<br>"I want to find out what made them become monsters. Maybe then, the evil things they do can be prevented."

When Kim mentioned this, Edward thought of Jim. Jim had tried to kill Edward. He wondered: was this the type of person Kim was talking about? Would Jim have become a serial killer had his life not ended so young?  
>Since Edward had just mentioned family, Kim asked him something she was curious about.<p>

"Edward...what about your family? Can you tell me about them? Did they live in that mansion?"

"My father was an inventor. He passed away a while ago. And my mother...I never met her."  
>"I'm sorry about that. It must've been painful when your dad went."<br>"I didn't know what happened. I thought he didn't wake up."

Kim was confused. How could Edward not know what death was? Either he was just a toddler when his father passed away or he was more isolated up there than she thought.  
>Edward felt pangs of discomfort as he watched Kim, puzzled and pondering. He wasn't sure how Kim would react to what he was going to say next, but he felt she needed to know and the time was now.<p>

"Kim, I'm a person. I have DNA like other humans. But...I wasn't born. My father assembled me. In that mansion."  
>Hearing this revelation, Kim's eyes raised in rapt attention. "That's unbelievable. Like a test-tube baby? Or some other technology?"<br>"It was a machine that makes new people using genes. Just like how most humans reproduce. My father passed away before he could finish me. That's why I have these." Edward raised his scissorhands for emphasis.  
>"...I see. Is anything else about you unfinished?"<br>"Yes. Sometimes I can't understand language well. I don't have to eat very often. And I don't age the way other humans do."  
>"How many years ago were you assembled?"<br>"I don't know."

Kim didn't really know what to say at this point. This revelation of his origins had made her a bit uncomfortable. Edward just stared silently forward, with the December wind against his pale face, into the ocean of fiery lights in the streets below. Then he spoke again:

"I hope one day someone can finish me. That's what I dream about."  
>"There's got to be someone who can. Maybe a doctor?"<br>"Maybe..."Edward said hopefully.  
>"This is where all the movie stars are. Alot of them will get plastic surgery to change their bodies. Maybe one of them can make hands?", Kim suggested.<br>Again, all Edward could say was "Maybe..."  
>After a moment, Edward realized what was implied.<br>"If I had hands, I could do alot of things I can't do now. But I couldn't cut hair or shrubs or performance cooking."  
>"Are you okay with that?", Kim asked.<br>"Yes." Edward was aware that sacrifice was inevitable, and he had accepted it. "I like my work alot."

So did Kim. She recalled sublimely the memory of dancing under the falling "snow" as he carved his ice angel on the Boggs' front lawn.  
>Then, she recalled that a little while earlier, during her reunion hug with Edward, she had cried, which had ruined her mascara, staining her cheeks like little drops of black blood. Reaching into her purse, she found a cosmetic mirror and a tissue. She wiped off the ruins and repaired her eyes. As she did so, Edward stared at her, enamored with her feminine beauty: her ponytail, her lips, her cute wintry outfit...it was all so endearing.<p>

By this point, the sun had gone down completely, taking all remaining vestiges of daylight with it. The lights of downtown and beyond shone brighter than before. And as Edward and Kim spoke and deepened their bond, their hearts shone brighter also.

* * *

><p><em>"I had to prove that I could make it alone, but that's not me.<br>I wanted to show how independent I'd grown, but that's not me.  
><em>

_I once had a dream, so I packed up and split for the city._  
><em>I soon found out that my lonely life wasn't so pretty."<em>

-Brian Wilson

Kim next asked a question that shook Edward in its profundity.

"Do you like your life here, Edward?"

It took Edward a very long time to answer. It was the same delay she had seen when he was on that local talk show and a woman in the audience asked him whether he had a girlfriend. Several times he would move his lips as if he had come up with the answer, only to stop and try something different.

After doing this maybe five times, Edward answered: "Life is complicated."  
>"It is.", Kim affirmed. "Have you made any friends here?"<br>"Yes."  
>"Good! What things do you do with them? Do you go swimming at the beach? Or to see movies? Have you ever been dancing? Do you take them up here to see the view?"<br>With great hesitation, Edward said: "...no."  
>"Why not?"<br>"I didn't ask them to. I don't think we're very close."  
>"Hmm...so they're more like acquaintances?", Kim asked.<br>"That's when people are nice to you but they're not very close?"  
>"Yes."<br>"I have alot of those. Most people are nice to me and are okay with my scissors. But some people are scared of them."  
>"I see..."<br>"I don't have any close friends yet. I'm scared to get close to people. It started with Joyce..."  
>"What did Joyce do?"<br>"She seduced me. And then when I fled she was angry, so she lied and said I did bad things to her."  
>"Oh wow. I'm so sorry. I knew Joyce and that doesn't surprise me at all. Actually she moved away a while ago."<br>Edward felt glad about that.

"Edward."  
>Edward turned his gaze to Kim's eyes as she looked directly at him. He found her large, chocolate-colored doe eyes utterly gorgeous. They radiated empathy and compassion. And it was for him. It was making him melt.<p>

"I really want you to make some friends. It'll be so good for you. Don't be scared, okay? You have an innocent heart, one that wants to do good. I know you do. And other people see that too. That's what they'll admire about you. And also that you're talented and creative! You can get close to people and be their friend. I believe in you."

Kim's words had inspired and encouraged Edward greatly. They made him recall the good times he'd had, before his encounter with Joyce had sent his life plummeting.

"You said you left your mansion again in order to find the good people and be with them, right? Well, they're out there. Be brave."

When Kim said that, Edward suddenly was no longer worried about making friends. His focus now was on Kim: her prettiness, her gentle kindness, her wisdom, her faith in him...he realized at this moment just how much he loved her. She was exactly who he had perceived her to be one year ago. Demonstrating his bravery, he leaned his face closer and closer to hers, not breaking eye contact. Kim happily received his lips and they kissed.

Edward tightly shut his eyes and pressed his lips closer. Kim did the same. Wonderful feelings began to course through them both. As they caressed one another with their lips, they savored those feelings, hoping they would last forever. No one had understood Edward the way Kim did, and aside from his own father, no one had ever loved him this much. Love, like an ember inside him, passionate and life-giving. He wanted to give back to her, to share all he had.

Kim was filled with breathtaking, icy chills. Over the course of the last year, the pain of being separated permanently from Edward had made Kim more and more depressed. Mired in unhappiness and often ruminating on "what might have been". But now, what might have been...simply was. As they kissed, she could feel all the longing and sadness inside her wash away, like dirt in the late summer rain, making her feel pure again. Pure and whole.

There was alot of sin in the valley of the City Of Angels, but the kiss Edward and Kim shared on the observatory mountaintop that night was holy and sacred. When the denouement arrived, their lips parted and Edward returned the words Kim had given him the last time they saw each other:

"I love you, Kim."  
>"I love you too. That kiss was incredible."<p>

There was calm and slight wind, and the distant roar of car engines below. Neither of them said anything because words were no longer necessary. Things stayed like this for a while, and then Edward stirred with slight discomfort.

"I'm tired. I need to sleep."  
>"Oh yeah. Where do you live, anyways?"<br>Edward stood up, yawned, stretched a little and turned to Kim.  
>"I'll show you."<p>

Then Edward moved on and behind him Kim followed.


End file.
